David Viafora (he / him) first started a local mindfulness group in his hometown, on the land of the Cahuila Nation, in California, over twenty years ago. He fell in love with this practice and the flame of mindful community building has been lit ever since. David ordained as a monk with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 2005 and spent several years living in the Plum Village tradition monasteries before finding his niche in lay community life. He founded several Sanghas or mindfulness communities across the US that are still thriving today; this includes Greatwoods Zen in the land of the Catawba, or Charlotte, North Carolina, where he currently resides.

David leads mindfulness retreats for educators, families, youth, young adults, and other groups in North America and Europe. He is a lay ordained member of the Order of Interbeing, the core community of the Plum Village tradition, and works as a licensed therapist for children, adults, and families. David is also a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion.

As a white-presenting Chinese-American cis man, David is always striving to better understand, embrace, as well as learn from his European, Asian, and American ancestors. Some of David’s favorite activities currently are drinking tea in the woods with friends, Sangha games nights, ecstatic dance, competitive sports, and sunset meditations.